January 21, 2002
Standard & Buckner join forces to Bear the Burden
___The Baptist Standard has joined with Buckner Children and Family Services to collect brand-new stuffed toys for children who have been abused and neglected.
___The campaign, "Bear the Burden," will draw attention to the plight of abused and neglected children while at the same time providing much-needed stuffed toys, such as teddy bears, to be given to children when they are removed from their homes due to suspected abuse. April is recognized nationally as Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month.
___Baptist Standard Editor Marv Knox said the newspaper is partnering with Buckner to promote Bear the Burden because the program provides a practical application of Christian faith.
___"Every week, the Baptist Standard's goal is to help our readers follow Christ more closely and to live as he would want them to," Knox explained. "The Bear the Burden program will offer Baptists across Texas a chance to share Christ's love with some of the neediest, most vulnerable children in their communities."
___Felipe Garza, vice president for Buckner Children and Family Services, said Buckner hopes to use the program as a way to further communicate the need to prevent child abuse in Texas. According to the latest statistics from state officials, 50,000 cases of abuse and neglect are confirmed annually, and another 200,000 are reported but go unconfirmed.
___Garza and Knox called for help from churches, civic organizations, schools and anyone interested in promoting Bear the Burden.
___Volunteers are needed to collect the stuffed toys locally. Due to safety concerns, all stuffed toys must be brand-new. The goal is to distribute the toys to children in the communities in which they are collected.
___Materials available for promotion of Bear the Burden include a poster, brochure, news releases, a website at www.beartheburden.org (which will be up and running soon), PowerPoint presentation and speakers who are available for special programs.
___Also, a toll-free number has been established for anyone wanting additional information about the program. The number is (866) BEAR-HELP.
___Stuffed toys already are being collected locally at the following Buckner Children and Family Services locations: Amarillo (806) 352-3900; Beaumont (409) 866-0976; Dallas (214) 319-3415; Longview (903) 757-9383; Lubbock (806) 795-7151; McAllen (956) 668-0145; Midland (915) 687-3525; and Mission (956) 585-4847.
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
